A point or two:
(1) always pay online with a credit card. It is the buyer's best friend. I imagine you are protected here with PayPal-eBay protection/insurance, but YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE YOUR PAY-PAL PAYMENT FUNDED WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD!, for ease of mind. If worse comes to worse (like losing your eBay-PayPal case), you can always order your credit card company to issue a charge back. (Note: even with a balance in your PayPal account, there are easy ways to have your PayPal payment funded by a credit card.)

(2) hardly anything gets lost in the mail, and because I am protected with credit card, I only worry after 3 weeks have gone by after payment. I only bother the seller 2 weeks after payment. This magical rule works 99% of the time. The day I bug the seller for the item (or the day after), it arrives! .... ....... As noted, sometimes it takes a long time for an item to arrive. -- misdirected mail, etc.

Robt.
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"Gods Playing Poker," by Bob Rini. Five Gods from left to right:
¶ Horus, the Egyptian Sun God (at upper left; looks like a seal)
¶ Buddha
¶ Jesus
¶ Hindu God Lord Krishna
¶ Hindu God Lord Ganesha
http://www.antiquegamblingchips.com/CelebritiesPlayingPoker.htm